1954 Chevy Custom Coupe - Plain Kool

In all truth, HOT ROD has shunned customs for a long few decades because we're biased against stuff that isn't built for performance. Yet, examining that prejudice, we find our position indefensible in a world where so many wicked-looking muscle cars and rods give only the illusion of speed and never boil a tire or carve a corner. In that light, custom cars become elevated to the higher level of purity, as they are completely honest about pleasing the eye and not the right foot.

2/8Cory Lekkerkerker's '54 Chevy stands out thanks to subtle body mods by Jesus "Watcha" Villalobos in San Jose, California, and House of Kolor Candy Apple Red over a black base by Chuck Page at Gold Coast Motoring in Monterey, California.

But then there's that pleasing the eye part. Bluntly, most don't. When a torch wielder deigns to reform factory body lines, the aesthetic leftover can be, well, a concoction of the wrong. There's so much nuance to a car's shapes and curves as viewed in three dimensions that the opportunities for failure have the best odds.

Which is why it's all the better when a custom car strikes you as just right. When we spotted this one at the '10 Grand National Roadster Show, it stopped us-and with only a glimpse of roof line through a crowd of admirers. Cory Lekkerkerker's '54 Chevy scores more points than his surname has syllables: For our taste, the car has the perfect volume of modifications, they are executed without any design violations, the color is stunning, the modern air suspension is used to great advantage, the interior is well underdone, and there's only one glaring bit of billet that takes us out of the scene. Overall, a win. It's the type of modern-built cruiser that makes us want one. How about you?